Peggy Sue Got Pregnant

After one reckless night with the boy she loves, sixteen-year-old Peggy Sue Lawrence's life changes forever. It is 1957. "Nice" girls don't have sex before marriage, and if they do and it leads to pregnancy, they are whisked out of town. In Peggy Sue's case, she's put on a bus in Hereford, Texas, headed for Cleveland, knowing she'll probably never see her musician boyfriend, Frankie London, again. She gives birth to a daughter, Charlee, and hands the baby over to an aunt and uncle, who adopt her with the agreement that the truth never be revealed. But it's too late. Someone knows. And that person will haunt Peggy Sue for years—until a teenaged Charlee forms an all-girl rock band and produces a hit record. Soon Peggy Sue is confronted with the realization that sometimes keeping secrets is worse than the secret itself.

Available in print and eBook from Soul Mate Publishing, Barnes and Noble, independent booksellers, and Amazon.

Three years ago, while waiting in line at the Westlake Borders to meet the one and only Pat Benatar, I struck up a conversation with another woman in line: Deanna Adams. As in that Deanna Adams, the woman who wrote the quintessential music bible Rock ‘N’ Roll and the Cleveland Connection.

Both writers and both lovers of music, we’ve since kept in touch and have been supportive of each other’s craft.

Deanna has now branched out into the novel form and the result is Peggy Sue Got Pregnant: A Rock ‘n Roll Love Story, scheduled for release this Wed 6/19. I caught up with the author and asked her some questions, to which her responses were thoughtful, funny and heartfelt.

Alex Sukhoy: What inspired you to write your first novel?

Deanna Adams: I always wanted to write a novel, and planned to after I wrote Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Cleveland Connection, but then I ended up writing Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl. Then after that, [I] was commissioned to do Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Roots. So finally, I decided it’s time for that novel! And although rock and roll novels aren’t high on the bestseller’s list, I had to be true to my passion, which, of course, is rock history.

I wanted to take the idea of, let’s say, the movie Forrest Gump, by taking fictional characters and weaving them through the baby boomer years. I then remembered the movie Peggy Sue Got Married and thought, okay, what if she got pregnant and it’s 1957 — when that’s about the worst thing that could’ve happened to a young girl. So right there was the plot. I wanted to include all that pop culture, too, as well as address issues of the past, as well as some issues that remain, for women, in particular.

How did you develop the characters for this book? Did you draw them in gradually or did they all show up all at once?

Once I started writing Peggy Sue’s character, the others simply entered the room (or on a bus, as in the case of her Detroit friend, Angela). The story itself came pretty easily. The challenge was plotting it out in a way that keeps the story and conflict moving. As a writer, I know the importance of keeping the reader riveted to the page. And that’s not always easy when you also need to show internal conflicts and character development, and the complexity of relationships, etc. I wanted to make sure something was happening on every page, so that took awhile to pull off. Because it was my first novel, the pressure to get it right was monumental. I did several rewrites. I was thrilled when my publisher and early readers’ response was so positive and enthusiastic.

Rock ‘n Roll is a theme for your writing. What is it about this music genre that connects with you so deeply?

I think it’s because we all grew up with music being the biggest thing in our young lives. Music was as important to us baby boomers as eating and breathing. There was so much great — and diverse — music born in our era. And it will always be a big part of who I am, personally and professionally.

What do you hope your readers will get out of this book? What do you think will resonate most?

I wrote it for my target audience — baby boomers who grow up in an amazing era, one in which saw many, many changes. I wanted to write a book that took us all back there. I also wanted to take readers on an emotional, sometimes sentimental, ride, so the story in turn reflects human nature. Yet I made a conscious effort to also make it fun to read, too.

What’s next for you?

I just got contracted to write the sequel, which continues with Peggy Sue’s daughter’s story through the ’80s (when MTV really meant Music Television), and the early ’90s. The first few pages of that story will be included at the end of this novel.

Alexsandra Sukhoy, a globally-networked creative and business professional with two decades of corporate leadership experience, is CEO of Creative Cadence LLC. Her career coaching skills have resulted in numerous success stories for her clients. Alexsandra teaches classes within the Media Arts and Journalism Departments at Tri-C and Business Environment at the Monte Ahuja College of Business at CSU.

The Sequel - Scoundrels & Dreamers

Rock singer, Charlee Campbell, aka Echo, cannot wait to start her new life-as Dusty's wife and mother to their newborn son. Then the unthinkable happens. Baby Dylan is taken from the hospital in the middle of the night by a woman posing as a nurse. The kidnapping soon threatens the couple's once-solid marriage, as well as Charlee's musical career. As the years pass, Charlee begins to doubt that she will ever see her child again. Little does she know, her son, now named Ben, is as close, and elusive, as her next hit record.

From the dawn of MTV and shoulder pads, through leg warmers and grunge,Scoundrels & Dreamers picks up where Peggy Sue Got Pregnant left off. Charlee's story brings back beloved characters while introducing new ones, whose affairs of the heart create the inspiration from which cherished songs are made.

Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl is a collection of true tales about growing up a baby boomer in the Midwest.

These coming-of-age stories, wide ranging in subject matter, are slices of life, experiences most of us share: internal conflicts, personal relationships, life-altering moments—whether you grew up Catholic or not.

Weave in historic events and pop culture trends and you have a book of nostalgic adventures that will evoke your own life memories—with laughter, warmth, and fond reflection.

Order Deanna Adam's book, Confessions of a Not-so-Good Catholic Girl online from Buy Books on the Web, www.bbotw.com, or Amazon:

"Her delivery is candid, forthright, and amusing. Adams perspective is no-nonsense; she shoots straight from the hip with a voice that conveys a direct and open-minded attitude." - National Association of Baby Boomer Women.

Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection

From the Publisher

Deanna Adams spent hundreds of hours researching recollections of the musicians, deejays, journalists, and fans who made up the Cleveland rock scene from the 1950s to the 1990s. The Kent State University Press is pleased to be the publisher of this excellent book.

Cleveland's Rock and Roll Roots

Ever since Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed first called the records he was playing "rock and roll," northeast Ohio has been a driving force in this musical phenomenon. From the disc jockeys who spun the music to the musicians who played it, the clubs that welcomed it and fans who encouraged it, rock and roll has been as much a part of this north coast as the lake that hugs it. It was those early years, from the 1950s on, that led Cleveland to becoming the "Rock and Roll Capital of the World" and ultimately home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. While the city spawned several widely recognized names, such as the James Gang (with Joe Walsh), the Raspberries (with Eric Carmen), and Bobby Womack, it is the music itself that will keep this town rocking on the shores of Lake Erie, and beyond, for a long time to come.